Welcome,
benevolent viewers,
to another edition of
Good People, Good Works.
Zambia, located
in Southern Africa,
is home to the legendary
Victoria Falls, the
world’s largest waterfall.

When I look at Zambia
as a country,
it’s a very rich country.
You look
in the tourism industries,
we are doing well,
especially
with the Victoria Falls.
We have a lot of tourists
come in.
And when you look at
agriculture, we’ve got
abundant rainfall, yes,
we plant maize.
So I think on food,
we’re doing fine.
So we’ve got a very
bright future ahead of us.

This week
we travel to Lusaka,
Zambia’s capital,
for the first in a two-part
series on projects
financially supported
by Irish Aid, the
Government of Ireland’s
humanitarian assistance
organization.

Seeking to promote
peace and justice,
Irish Aid works to better
economic conditions
and foster equality
in developing nations
such as those found
in Sub-Saharan Africa.
To successfully achieve
its goals, the organization
forms close partnerships
with recipient countries,
other donors,
multilateral groups,
non-governmental
organizations
and missionaries.

Two projects that
received assistance from
Irish Aid in Lusaka are
Our Lady’s Hospice and
the Umoyo Day Center
for Orphans.
Our Lady’s Hospice is
a faith-based organization
that mainly provides
palliative care to cancer
and HIV/AIDS patients.
The facility serves
over 3,500 Zambians
on an outpatient basis
and operates
an intensive care unit.

I’ve only been here
since December 2006,
but I came to Zambia
in 1982 from Ireland,
and I first worked
in a mission hospital
in Luapula Province.
I stayed there for 13 years,
and then I moved to
the Copperbelt, where
I did home-based care
in Luanshya, and
after that I came here,
and I’m here since.

I was brought up
a Catholic in Ireland.
I became a Franciscan
sister when I was 18, and
I really wanted to serve
people and
I had a good home, and
I felt I wanted to be able
to share with
other people, so I thought
I would like to work with
the underprivileged
and the poor.
So, by joining the
Franciscan Missionaries
of the Divine Motherhood,
I have the opportunity
to come and
help people in Zambia.

The Zambian people are
very spiritual people.
And most Zambians
worship in church.
But many of them
are Catholic.
And we want to be able
to provide services
for them when they come
here when they’re ill.

Our Lady’s Hospice
has a program to help
youngsters who are
HIV positive
cope with their condition.

Usually it’s only
for the children who
know their (HIV positive)
status, so when we meet
once a month,
we sit down and they
bring out stories, so they
encourage one another,
“Even me,
I’m in your situation,
even me, I’m like this,
my parent is doing this,
my caregiver is…”
So we encourage them,
we sit together
by discussing with
their friends, they open up.

The antiretroviral drugs
that the Hospice
dispenses which halt
the progression of
the HIV disease are
truly making a difference
in the lives of those
with the condition
in local communities.

I am a pharmacy attendant,
assistant in short.
We normally come to
discuss the drugs, the
ARVs (Anti-Retrovirals)
and then we prepare
for the inpatients.
After that we take
the drugs that side.
But mainly it’s the
distribution of the ARVs.
That is mostly done.
For those who are tested
after their CD4
(T-cell count) results
are out and they are
eligible to start the drugs,
we give them
the (antiretroviral) drugs.

And there are a lot of
people coming in to
get their drugs, which is
so encouraging, because
at least people are testing
and they are knowing
their (HIV) status.
At least they will know
how to live positively
than when they just
stay at home and
they don’t know.

The non-profit Center
for Infectious Disease
Research in Zambia
(CIDRZ) sponsors
a puppetry troupe to
inform HIV positive
children about how to
manage their condition,
in particular encouraging
them to regularly take
their antiretroviral drugs.
We met the troupe when
they were performing
at the Hospice.

My name is Gladys Wayama
I’m one of
the puppeteers.
I’m “Taonga”
in the puppetry team.
We started puppetry
in 2007.
It’s a CIDRZ project.
They do research
on cancer, HIV, TB and
other related diseases.
The puppetry project that
we’re doing is mainly
on ideas around stigma,
hygiene and good health,
and our objective is
reaching the pedes
(child patients),
the young ones who are
on ART (Anti-Retroviral
Therapy).
So we mainly go to
the clinics.
We've started
going through the clinics
in Lusaka.
And recently
we had a tour of
Southern Province.

I play the character of
Oliver in the performance.
And I’m a puppeteer.
I think for me, this is
the greatest job
I've had so far, and
I enjoy performing.

It is helping a lot of
children to adhere to
(taking) their medication
and just being careful
with the way they
take care of their bodies,
because it (the play)
emphasizes hygiene and
cleanliness, and
the way they’re supposed
to take their medication.

My name is
Teddy Winashiku.
I’m a doctor
in the puppetry show.
And actually the puppetry
show is for the kids.
And this is helping them
to adhere to
(taking) the medication.
So this show at the moment
has started in the clinics.
We are in the clinics,
because we’ve got ART
(antiretroviral therapy)
places in the clinics;
that’s where
kids get their treatment.

So it's all about talking
about the treatment of kids,
adhering (to treatment)
and the caregivers.
The caregivers are
the ones that we want to
also put in line with
the treatment of the child.
Looking at the child,
a child is a person who
needs a second person
to actually help out
to follow the (taking of)
medication.

We asked the puppeteers
about how
the children react
to their performances.

The response
is overwhelming.
And we have seen,
looking at the clinics
that we have been to,
we have kids when
doing their adherence
(to treatment) actually
they mention what they
learned from our script.
And that is encouraging
because they are picking
a few things from there.

The children love it
very much.

They love it.
We’ve been to
certain clinics
on several occasions,
and they just want us
to be there all the time.
They love it, because
it teaches them about
playing with one another.
Mostly, you find that
the children that are sick
are stigmatized
by their friends.
But we teach them
to love their friends
who are sick.

We are one of
the countries in Africa
that is actually doing
the best, despite (the fact)
we are in the
sub-Saharan area where
there’s a high rate of HIV.
But in Zambia,
our statistics are showing
that people are actually
complying with
the treatment, and all
the necessary measures
of not getting infected,
and others actually
are not falling off from
the treatment (regimen).

When this facility
first opened in 2003, the
majority of the patients
didn’t go out alive.
But now,
70% are going out alive.
And they’re returning
to work.
So already, the number
of new orphans
has decreased.
Many of them they get to
have their parents
back again.
They’re back working,
so the children are not
suffering because
there's no income.

So, we would hope that
people will come in time
for treatment,
so then they can
stay alive longer.
But obviously, ultimately,
we would like that
there would be
no more HIV.
So we are also trying to
give health education and
education about
how to live life and
not become infected.
And that’s the ideal.

What do Zambians wish
for their children’s future?

Zambia is a great nation.
I love to be a Zambian
and there’s a lot of
potential in our country.
That’s why mostly, when
HIV and AIDS started,
a lot of people sought out
the older people.
But today
we look at the children.
That’s why we are
seeking this group
that we have.
We are looking at
the young children
because they are
the future generation,
and they are
the future leaders.
We love our country.

My hope is that
we have in the future,
a generation
free from HIV.
That’s why we are
looking at the young ones,
because they are
the foundation of
the country, that if we
seek out the young ones,
probably
and by God’s grace,
we will have a nation
free from HIV and AIDS.

What I’m hoping for
maybe, really,
it’s for a cure, and they
give them that confidence
that no matter
their status, knowing that
they’re HIV positive,
still they can do well
in school,
they can finish school,
they can go to universities,
and they can study well,
and get a good job after
finishing their schooling.

My wish for Zambia
as a whole, of course
is to see that this peace
which we have
in this country continues
and that there will be
no conflicts, and
just peace to continue.

We commend and
salute you, Irish Aid
for your support of
Our Lady’s Hospice
which is uplifting
the lives of
the Zambian people.
Our sincere thanks,
Hospice staff as well as
the puppeteer troupe
from the Center for
Infectious Disease
Research in Zambia
for bettering the lives of
many Zambians in need.

Respected viewers,
please join us again
next Sunday on
Good People, Good Works
for the conclusion of
our two-part show
where we’ll visit
the Umoyo Day Center
for Orphans in Lusaka.

For more details
on the organizations
featured today,
please visit
the following websites:
Center for Infectious
Disease Research
in Zambia
www.CIDRZ.org
Irish Aid
www.IrishAid.gov.ie
Our Lady’s Hospice
www.OurLadysHospice-Zambia.org

Welcome,
engaged viewers,
to this edition of
Good People, Good Works,
for the conclusion
of our two-part program
on the activities
of the charitable group
Irish Aid in Zambia,
which has helped build
the facilities
at Our Lady’s Hospice
and the Umoyo
Day Center for Orphans
in the capital city
of Lusaka.

Seeking to promote
peace and justice,
Irish Aid works to better
economic conditions
and foster equality
in developing nations
such as those found
in Sub-Saharan Africa
like Zambia.
The Umoyo Day Center
looks after
nearly 100 orphans
ages 4 to 8 during the day
and provides them with
education and hot meals.

Our Lady’s Hospice is
a faith-based organization
that mainly provides
palliative care to cancer
and HIV/AIDS patients.
We begin
with Sister Kay O’Neil,
administrator
of Our Lady’s Hospice,
showing us
around the facility.

This building was funded
by Irish Aid, and
it was opened in 2001.
And it was the first building
for this plot here,
and we started training
the caregivers
to look after the people
in their homes
suffering from HIV/AIDS.
And from then after,
we got some more
buildings, and then we
started admitting patients
and seeing to them in
the outpatients department.

In 2004, we got
free antiretroviral drugs,
and then the patients
increased enormously.
And now we’ve got over
5,000 registered patients
coming to our
outpatients (department).
This room here is
a physiotherapy (room)
for patients who
suffer side effects from
the antiretroviral drugs.
They get a lot of nerve pain
and they come here for
massage and ultrasound
and other treatments.

This is the Physiotherapy
Department.
People who have been
in bed for a long time,
they experience
maybe swollen limbs,
we give them a massage.
If they've got painful legs,
then you can
give them a massage
straight to their joints
to keep them mobile,
and also improve
on the blood circulation.

Here is a demonstration
of the massage technique
that brings relief
to patients at the Hospice.

Use some oil,
just enough, then…
…. just massage her.
This massage is just to
improve some circulation,
and also just
to relax the muscles,
and then after that,
sometimes use
a pain relief gel,
so that when
it penetrates the skin, it’s
able to relieve the pain.
Then it will be easy for me
to just move her elbow
so that it’s flexible.
Even if somebody’s
in the hospital, when they
come out of the hospital,
they should be able to
use their arm
in their daily function.
This is why
we do physiotherapy

Sister Kay O’Neil
next takes us to another
important department
in the Hospice
that provides treatment
to HIV patients.

Our latest hospice
is a facility that caters
to HIV-positive clients,
on ART
(antiretroviral therapy)
and just on
palliative management.
We are helping
the community,
because right now,
apart from giving them
the medication
which they need,
we also give them
the food supplements,
which are being produced
by other organizations.

The University
of Alabama-Birmingham
in the US provides
diagnostic services
to the Hospice.
Sister Kay now
explains further.

The members of the staff
are putting the data
of the patients
into the computer and then
it goes to Birmingham
in Alabama (USA)
for analysis.
And they give us
feedback about
how we can proceed
with the treatment
of the patient,
whether we need to change
some of their medication
or give us indication
of how they’re improving
or if they’re not
responding to the treatment.

Let us meet one of the
facility’s fine physicians,
who provides great care
to the patients.

Basically here
we care for the people
who are terminally ill.
Most of the time,
like the criteria
of admission here, for those
who are HIV positive
and all the complications
of HIV like
opportunistic infections,
then people with cancer,
those are the people
who are admitted
(to the Hospice).

Conditions like cancer,
those are
palliative conditions.
And usually
it’s just palliative care,
then we have people
like those who are
infected with HIV/AIDS.
Then there is some
opportunistic infection,
things like TB.
We do admit them.
Though sometimes
they may come
in a serious condition,
but by the grace of God,
we do manage them
properly.
Then after they start
their TB treatment,
after that,
then we initiate them with
ARVs (antiretrovirals).

I can say
that 70% of the people,
they are doing fine.
And you may find
that they are discharged
and they go back
to their homes
and some time
after initiating the ARVs,
they pick up, they go back
to their daily activities.
If they are working,
they will again recover,
they start working again.

We now visit
another project financially
supported by Irish Aid,
the Umoyo Day Center
for Orphans.
Sister Edna O’Connor
is the manager
of the facility.

I've worked here
at the center since 2003.
I’ve worked
with the children
and then we have
four teachers and
we have a coordinator.
All the children here
are orphans.
Either both their parents
are gone or one parent
may still be living
but they are usually sick.
So they're raised
by their grandparents,
aunt, uncle, or whatever.
We have 96 children
and we take them
from age four to eight.
So we start with
the very young children.

The idea is to build them up
nutritionally so there are
two meals every day.
They come to school
five days a week.
Then we have
trained teachers
for all the classes.
We have four classes;
about 24 children
in each class.
We have two cooks that
prepare delicious meals,
breakfast and lunch,
and after lunch
then they go home.

... This is the day
That the Lord has made,
that the Lord has made.
We will rejoice,
we will rejoice,
And be glad in it,
and be glad in it.
This is the day
that the Lord has made.
We will rejoice
and be glad in it,
and be glad in it.
Oh, this is the day,
this is the day
That the Lord has made.
We are the sons,
we are the sons,
Of the living God,
of the living God.
We will rejoice,
we will rejoice,
And be glad in Him,
and be glad in Him.
We are the sons
of the living God.
We will rejoice
and be glad in Him,
And be glad in Him.
Oh, we are the sons,
we are the sons
Of the living God.

When they are finished
here the children that
reach the age of seven
they go on to first grade
in government schools.
This place was built
with the help of Irish Aid,
the building itself.
We would never be able
to put up the building
if it wasn't
for that initial grant that
we got from Irish Aid.

And then other people
gave donations,
but the biggest one
was Irish Aid.
So we appreciate what
they have given to us.
We were opened in 2003;
that's when we started,
we started over
at the church and then
when this building
was built
they moved over here.
So this is
where we have been.

Isaac Kahlaya is
the Center’s coordinator
and plays
a very important role.

My work here involves
quite a lot of things.
There's a follow-up
of children who are sick,
follow-up of children
who don't go to school,
follow-up of children
who don't normally
look well.
So initially my job is
to make sure that
everything is in place,
and also the registration
of children eligible
to come for the program.
Because we are looking at
only those who are half
and full orphans.

And the main purpose
of this school is
the nutrition part of it;
that's what we're looking at.
These are orphans.
They are looking forward
to someone who can
show love to them, of which
this place is there.
So they feel good otherwise.
And sometimes,
they even come during
Saturdays or holidays' time
because of
the good reception.

They're happy, joyful,
playful children.
And that's
what you see here;
they enjoy their childhood.

There is a name
I love so much
I love so much
There is a name
I love so much
The name of Jesus Christ
Oh, how I love Jesus
Oh, how I love Jesus
Oh, how I love Jesus
Because He died for me.

Read your Bible every day
Every day, every day
Read your Bible every day
As you grow, grow, grow
As you grow, grow.

What is Sister
Edna O’Connor’s hope
for Zambian children?

That they will get
a good foundation
in education, especially,
and then also get good food
so that they'll be strong
and healthy
and be able to cope with
the ups and downs of life.
So I hopefully see
good education,
good healthcare.

I believe God loves us all.
I believe we're
all brothers and sisters.
I believe
God is our Father;
we’ve the same God;
no matter who we are,
God loves all of us.
And I think
it's our responsibility
to help and support
one another
as much as we can.
Because it comes back
in peace, it comes back
in a sense of joy.
There’s more received
than given actually.

Our appreciation,
Irish Aid for funding
benevolent projects
in Zambia and elsewhere
in the world.
We sincerely thank you,
staff members
of Our Lady’s Hospice
and the Umoyo
Day Center for Orphans
for giving great comfort
to others in need and
your dedicated efforts to
nurture orphaned children
in Lusaka.
May your service
continue to uplift
the spirits and lives
of the country’s mothers,
fathers and children.